FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98  
99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   >>   >|  
paw to Lilla; won't you, Multiphobus?" "I will give two," said the Multiphobus, standing on his hind legs and stretching out his fore paws to Lilla. She shook them, and felt at ease with him at once. The Magpie fluttered about. "I am not going home by myself," said he. "I shall stay here if Lilla does." "That you shall," replied Rollo; "we will all live in this beautiful land together." [Illustration: "THE WIND HAD LULLED THEM TO SLEEP."] Ah! what a beautiful land it was! The two children wandered through it hand in hand, and revelled in all its glories--now underneath the stately forest trees, or breaking through the tangled brushwood all radiant with green and gold, and crimson leaves and lovely flowers, or now sitting on the river-bank listening to the stories the river told them of the lands through which it had passed; whilst the Wind sang so many wonderful songs that Lilla begged to hear them over again. And after the Wind had lulled them to sleep among the soft clover and wild thyme, the moon and stars peeped out and sent them beautiful dreams, whilst two nightingales sat among the roses and sang "Lullaby, lullaby" as sweetly as the southern wind. So that whether waking or sleeping the children were happy. Sometimes Lilla would say-- "Ah! if it had not been for the words on the board, I should still have been living with the cross old woman in the town with the long street and the cathedral. And she would have gone on scolding me for ever and ever; and whatever should I have done, I wonder." "You may thank me," said the Magpie, "for having brought you away; that's very certain." "You may thank me also," said the Multiphobus, "and I am sure you ought to do so, for it was I who nailed up the board with the magic words upon the garden wall." And of course, as I need not tell you, Lilla did thank them. JULIA GODDARD. A YOUNG ROMAN'S SACRIFICE. A TRUE STORY. Once upon a time, many hundred years ago, when Rome was mistress of the world, and the Romans were braver and stronger than any one else, there lived a boy of thirteen whose name is still remembered. Lucius Valerius was fond of his lessons, but most of all did he love poetry; so, although he was only thirteen years old, he made up his mind that he would try to win the gold medal and ivory lyre which were given every five years to the boy who should write the best poem. Lucius not only tried, but he succeeded, a
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98  
99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
beautiful
 

Multiphobus

 

children

 

thirteen

 

Lucius

 
whilst
 
Magpie
 

garden

 
nailed
 

street


cathedral

 

living

 
scolding
 

brought

 
poetry
 

lessons

 
remembered
 
Valerius
 

succeeded

 

SACRIFICE


GODDARD

 

hundred

 

stronger

 

braver

 

Romans

 

mistress

 

Illustration

 

replied

 

LULLED

 

glories


underneath

 
stately
 

forest

 

revelled

 

wandered

 
stretching
 

standing

 
fluttered
 

breaking

 
peeped

dreams
 

nightingales

 
clover
 
Lullaby
 

waking

 

sleeping

 
Sometimes
 

lullaby

 
sweetly
 

southern